


I wonder if you'll leave me behind someday

by Alto_Mun



Category: Puyo Puyo (Video Games)
Genre: Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, M/M, My First Fanfic, Oblivious Satan (Puyo Puyo), One-Sided Attraction, Other, Pining, Rarepair, also canon is my bitch expect inaccuracies, also this is pasted from my google docs so formatting weirdness, but i WILL fill this tag myself, chatfic, i love this ship a lot even tho im the only content creator for it, this one goes out to the bee farm gang uwu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:15:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29155692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alto_Mun/pseuds/Alto_Mun
Summary: among the wildflowers and the lilies, sleeping by the waySatan and Ecolo have a discussion on the roof of Satan's castle. Ecolo finds that some words are easier to be left unsaid.(Post-PPT2! Minor spoilers!)
Relationships: Ecolo/Satan (Puyo Puyo), Ringo Ando/Arle Nadja, Satan/Arle Nadja (Mentioned; One-sided)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 29





	1. you're fixated on the candytufts

**Author's Note:**

> This story is dedicated to everyone on my discord server, especially my friend Lance, who pioneered this ship with me through RP. I really think these two have a great dynamic together, so this is my way of getting the word out!

"We  _ are  _ friends, right, Ecolo?" 

The question had hit him like a verbal flashbang. 

Ecolo and Satan were spending the late hours of the night up on the roof of one of the spires of Satan's famed Castle of Villainy, although the spacetime traveler had always joked that it was more of a Castle of Small-Time Antagonism. They'd spent several nights like this, especially since they'd teamed up during the wish-granting debacle almost ten years ago. Satan found Ecolo easy to talk to, or at least, it seemed that way. 

"I… Suppose we are." Ecolo replied, staring off at the stars in the direction from which he'd come down that particular night. 

"You suppose?" 

"I suppose."

"Why the uncertainty?" 

That question, he could never hope to answer honestly. 

Ecolo instead opts to revel in the bliss of a half-truth. 

"Well, we talk a lot, and pretty casually too. But I've never really had a friend before, so it's hard to say."

"I should hope we're friends! I've offloaded far too much onto you for us to simply be acquainted."

"Ha! Yeah, you sure have."

He's heard it all, really. The fight against God, the destruction of the First Madou World, Satan's even told him about his late wife, Lilith… thinking on it, Ecolo himself is taken aback by how personal their relationship is. 

"Why do you ask, Satan?" 

"Well… I've told you so much about me, but I hardly know anything about you. Your past, your secrets, your love life."

"Psssh! Like  _ you _ have a love life you've told me about!" 

"Now, you hush up! I have Arly, that's all I'll ever need."

Ah, yes. Arle Nadja. Of course, how could he possibly forget about her. For a few choice moments in these late-night conversations with Satan, sometimes Ecolo can forget she exists… If only for a small while. 

Of course, he wants nothing bad to befall her - she makes Ringo very happy, and Ec would rather not deal with the fallout of her losing that - but she did draw Satan's attention in a way that Ecolo only wished he could. 

"Satan, buddy, I keep telling you, just because she looks like…. Well,  _ her,  _ doesn't mean she's into you. In fact, I'm decently sure she hates you. Like, a  _ lot." _

"Nonsense, nonsense! We're meant to be. What would  _ you _ know about love, anyhow?" 

Ecolo laughs off how much that remark hurt him. 

"I guess you're right about that."

What would he know about love? How his heart was struck unexpectedly during his tenure possessing Arle, when Satan had made that flirtatious remark? 

How he leapt to the opportunity to work with Satan on the wish plan, only to ask what he'd wish for, and be shot down by Satan's answer? 

How he'd fixed up that portal on the Tetra with Satan, and then been ignored afterwards? 

How happy he'd been to collaborate on the book, only to leave with dashed hopes when he'd asked what it was all for?

How exciting it was to team up and corral Marle and Squares for the rest of the group, even though he knew Satan had but one person in mind? 

Truly, what  _ would _ he know anyway, other than that love hurts? 

"Ecoloooo? Ecolo!" 

"Huh?!" 

Satan's call snaps him out of his funk, and he plays it off as just zoning out. 

"Happens to the best of us. How could you be attentive with such a beautiful sky as this?" 

"Hm. Can't argue with that!" 

He looks back up at the starry vault of the night sky, sharing a moment of silence with Satan. 

Ecolo knows that he's not the one Satan wants to share this view with… 

But for a little while, he can at least pretend. 

And what harm could come from a little pretending? 


	2. and you hadn't the time for me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are two memos that Satan has yet to get. One about Arle, and one about Ecolo. Herein, he gets the first, but has yet to get the second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! this was written on a bender during school because I have the brainrot and people want ecosata content. I'm happy to deliver! I wrote this in a cold-medicine-induced fugue state, so expect a bit of weirdness.

Another night, another meeting, just as they'd always had. Ecolo was uncertain as to why he kept attending these little meet-ups, even as every time he met Satan's eyes he felt a pang in his heart, and every time he heard the word "Arle", it was another twisted knife in his back. He ponders this as he descends from the stars, tracing the cosmic trail to the familiar castle. He'd made his peace with it, sure - he wasn't about to act like Rulue, much of a thorn in Satan's side as she is - but it was still a sort of torture he willingly invites upon himself.

Is this masochism? Couldn't be, he doesn't _enjoy_ it... the pain isn't something he reaches for. It's the presence of Satan, he decides, stalling in the air absentmindedly. The yearning is what keeps him coming back.

Tonight, however, was soon to be much, _much_ different, as Ecolo would shortly find. Glancing yet again at his destination, he glimpses what seems to be some small object hurtling towards him from the roof. Thinking it to be no more than a chunk of space junk or atmospheric refuse, he changes his course a little to avoid it... But then the object changes course as well.

It's only seconds before impact when Ecolo realizes that the object is, in fact, Satan himself, shooting up to greet him with the airborne equivalent of a tacklehug. He squeezes Ecolo on impact as though he were nothing more than a gigantic stuffed animal, grip like a vise or a hydraulic press, and it is only after the shock of this event subsides that Ecolo realizes Satan is sobbing. It's a far from dignified cry to boot - before him in his arms is the ruler of Hell itself, wailing like a child whose dog had just died. Ecolo hugs him back after a moment, before pushing him away to engage in a proper conversation.

"...Satan? What happened? You _never_ cry this much... at least, not in front of me..."  
The Dark Prince ran his sleeve across his eyes for a moment, taking a few raspy breaths in order to steady his voice.

"Oh, Ecolo, it's terrible, it's horrible, I've had the most absolutely positively _wretched_ day, and you're the only one I can speak to about it..."

"How so? I've never been good with emotions-"

He's abruptly cut off by Satan gripping his shoulders, looking directly into his eyes.

"The girl. That redhead from Suzuran..."

"Ringo? What about her?"

Satan trembles, and for a moment, Ecolo is unsure if he'll be able to get a straight answer out of him...

"Oh, that blasted wretch, she- She _stole_ Arly from meeeeeeeee!! Oh, it's _horrible,_ it's _awful..."_

 _....Ah. So that's what this is,_ Ecolo thinks.   
He'd had his suspicions about those two for a while - Arle's presence had always seemed to make Ringo very happy, or at the very least put her at ease. Ringo being a bit sweet on Arle had never been out of the question... but of course Satan wouldn't take it very well.

Nevertheless, he attempts to bring Satan back to a calmer state.

"...It's alright, big guy, it'll be okay. Here, why don't we go back down to the roof so we can actually sit down and talk this out?"

Satan sniffles for a moment before nodding, allowing Ecolo to lead him to the planet's surface.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So. Ringo and Arle. What's the situation?"

Satan sits next to Ecolo, knees drawn up to his chest, face still streaked with tears as he recounts the events of the day.

"Well... It was a relatively nice day, so I had myself a walk through the forest. My memories had been troubling me as of late, and I thought I might be able to clear my head, if only for a moment. And- And that's when I saw them! Ringo and Arle, sitting in a clearing and having a little picnic together-!"

"Well, how's that prove anything? You can have picnics with friends."

Satan lashes out at Ecolo, gripping his shoulders again and looming over him with his wings flared.

"You don't understand-! They- they were- holding hands, and- c-cuddling, and I-"

"You're panicking 'cause you saw 'em kiss, huh?"

Satan clasps his hands over his face and groans up at the sky, answering Ecolo's question with a plaintive nod.

"N-naturally I confronted them about it! Arly is my wonderful fiancé, I'd never expect such unfaithfulness from her! The only conclusion I could draw was that she'd been tempted-"

Ecolo _bursts_ into laughter hearing that.

"Hey! It's not funny!"

"REALLY, Satan? RINGO? Able to TEMPT someone?! Oh, god, you're _killing_ me here-"

"It's true! It's the only possible explanation!"

"Or maybe- and hear me out here, just _maybe_ \- you, a man, happened to fall in love with a lesbian."

This assertion casts Satan into stunned silence, as though he needed a moment to process. Ecolo lets him stew this information around in his brain, looking back up at the stars as he does so. Satan was book-smart, he'd give him that, but at times he was the dumbest man Ecolo had ever had the pleasure of meeting.

"...So... She's not... interested in men?"

"Probably not. Neither is Ringo, but I know _that_ for a fact."

"So she was... never interested in me to begin with..."

"...Yeah... Sorry, Satan. You sort of punched your own ticket on this one."

...They share another silence, this one lasting for at least a half-hour. Ecolo can tell that Satan's trying his best to grapple with this information. He's a bit surprised when Satan leans over onto his shoulder, but they both settle into this position rather quickly.  
The best he can do is be a shoulder for Satan to cry on.

When the silence finally breaks, it's Satan who does the deed, and he sounds positively shattered.

"So... there is no one to love me after all."

This statement shocks Ecolo perhaps worse than any other sentence could.

"...What?! No! No, Satan, that's- that's just not true! Have you ever even _spoken_ to Rulue? She's _crazy_ about you."

"Well, yes, but... that sort of thing isn't healthy. She's violent and uncompromising, willing to kill for a spot next to me... If I indulge her, I fear she may end up destroying herself."

"...You have a point, but..."

_~~Please, please hear me. I'm right here. I'm in front of your eyes. Can you not see the way I look into yours?~~ _

"I... I'm _sure_ you can be loved, because..."

"Because...?"

_~~I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I have, ever since I saw you, I love you so much it hurts me-~~ _

"...Well... Because you're _you._ You're the Dark Prince, Satan."  
He places one of his hands around behind Satan's back.

"To me... You're perfect."

....And the silence this time is positively deafening.


	3. as you tried to pull your bloody hands away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between Hell and the heavens, a promise once kept fades into the background as tensions mount and Satan finally gets control of the group braincell for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh mother of GOD am I sick. ive been nauseous and borderline feverish for the past few days, and i got randomly struck with the muse to write this at 12 AM. Consider it a belated valentines gift!!  
> Also this chapter has some chatfic stuff in it!!

Five months.

It had been five long months since that day, since that conversation, since Ringo and Arle had more or less gone official, since Satan had lost his lease on life.  
The longest five months of Ecolo's infinite existence. 

Normally, they would meet once or twice a week. Sitting up there on that castle roof, all seemed quiet. It was a welcome break from hopping galaxies and visiting planets, as far as Ecolo was concerned, and the two of them had a pretty reliable friendship between them. Ecolo would listen to Satan prattle about this and that and the other, they'd share drinks and homemade sweets (Satan was such a good baker), and above all else just sit and laugh and cry and be _themselves,_ no walls between them.

There was a wall now, though. Ecolo could feel it. He hadn't been invited planetside in _five months._

The last thing he'd want to do is intrude. How could he possibly encroach on the privacy of the man who'd so graciously opened his heart and home to him, taken though the first of the two was?

Instead, he huddles near the edge of spacetime, in the very spot where Ringo had first bested him, glancing over at his impossibly-powered laptop. The screen glows invitingly with the prospect of entertainment, but Ecolo declines, feeling much too down in the dumps to comply to its pleas. 

That is, until a message pops up on-screen.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**chat: suzuran shitposters  
time (server): 12:46 AM**

**iphone lesbian: @instagram slime** hey are you still existing? havent seen you in a hot minute

 **iphone lesbian:** also why is my name on here still iphone lesbian

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, yes. His friendship with Ms. Andou was rocky and slow-going, but he supposes that if she took the time to check up on him, she must be either incredibly concerned or incredibly bored. Figuring he could remedy either situation, Ecolo hovers over to the computer to reply.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 **instagram slime:** its an apple joke ringie if you dont like it change it

 **iphone lesbian:** and _ruin_ my _brand?_ ecolo you _mock_ me.

 **instagram slime:** thats what i thought lol

 **men want me fish are me:** are we tormenting ecolo ★

 **instagram slime:** sasaki i dont wanna hear it from you

 **iphone lesbian:** so how did satan take the whole arle thing

 **instagram slime:** badly

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He can't help but chuckle a little bit at the conversation. Risukuma was likely either asleep at this hour or working on some inane science experiment - either way, he'd be unreachable - so Ecolo supposes he's all these two have to entertain themselves tonight.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 **iphone lesbian:** oof how badly

 **instagram slime:** like really really bad. midair interception crying into my shoulder bad

 **men want me fish are me:** lmaoooo get some ★

 **iphone lesbian:** you're not helping

 **men want me fish are me:** im not trying to ★

 **iphone lesbian:** that much is clear

 **instagram slime:** yall omg

 **men want me fish are me:** space blob says yall bottom text ★

 **men want me fish are me:** much as id like to keep bothering ecolo i have a test tomorrow

 **men want me fish are me:** cyaaa ★

 **iphone lesbian:** well then 

**iphone lesbian:** mind telling me the juicy details

 **instagram slime:** lmao sure

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ecolo sits back and thinks about how best to recount the details of his and Satan's last meeting, before typing away at the keyboard long into the endless cosmic night.

* * *

**chat: Madou World Official  
time (server): 1:05 AM**

**aww man:** Does anybody know why Satan's been shut up in his castle for so long?

 **aww man:** He and I were set to spar with each other today, but I haven't seen him at all.

 **aww man:** I was looking quite forward to blowing him...

 **bayoend your life:**.

 **bayoend your life:** lemme guess

 **bayoend your life:** "blowing him away", right?

 **aww man:** Oh, blast it all, does this linguistic curse of mine never cease?! I'd be better off locking my lips-

 **bayoend your life:** you mean shutting up forever

 **aww man:** Precisely.

 **bayoend your life:** nevermind that. i think he's being a little pissbaby because i'm dating ringo

 **dynasonichu:** wait seriously??? good for you!!!

 **aww man:** Congratulations, Arle! It is my understanding you have been pursuing her for quite some time, yes?

 **bayoend your life:** well yeah but now that it's official, satan isn't having it... at the very least he hasn't come to smite her yet.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Satan, too, was staring at a screen, though he would not be typing on it today. 

He'd made it past the stage where he was mad about this. It'd been a good few months of introspection and self-discovery, for one. He'd been forced, finally, to face the fact that Arle was not Lillith, as well as the fact that she had never loved him. It was.... hard to accept, but it was not impossible. 

No, more pressing was the matter that he'd been pondering regarding his rather rotund acquaintance from beyond the stars.

Ecolo was all that swam through his thoughts of late. The grace with which he'd handled the situation five months ago kept itself at the forefront of his thoughts, each motion practiced and routine but seeming so... _personal,_ _deliberate,_ even. The hand that had come to rest behind his back.... he still held that little comforting bit of pressure in his mind, a memento of the day he'd bore his very heart out to Ecolo and watched as he'd _taken_ it with no question, holding it gently in his embrace as if the spacetime traveler had been waiting his whole existence to do so.

But he'd no idea how to feel about that.

That had been what Lillith had done for him, back when he went by Lucifer Morningstar instead of Satan, instead of _adversary..._

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 **bayoend your life:**...okay, looks like everyone else is offline

 **bayoend your life:** satan. i know you're reading this.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Satan recoiled from the screen, and then his eyes zipped over to the sidebar only to realize he'd forgotten to set his status as invisible. He watched the little typing animation next to Arle's icon with... _fear._

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 **bayoend your life:** we need to talk.

 **bayoend your life:** is the roof a good place?

* * *

And so he finds himself back on the roof... but without a accompanying non-newtonian friend to speak to. Instead, he has the powerful mage and possibly-demigod Arle Nadja here, presumably to rip him a new one.

Or at least, that's what he thinks, but all preconceived notions are dropped when Arle leads with-

"I wanna talk to you about Ecolo."

"E-Ecolo?! Why _Ecolo?_ Didn't you come here to berate me for my years of immature and disrespectful behavior towards you?"

"God, no. I've kicked your ass plenty of times, no need for another. I guess I'm moreso here to berate you for your stupidity."

Satan looks at Arle, dumbfounded with his jaw hanging open.

"What do you think about your relationship with Ecolo?"

"Well.... We're partners in crime, so to speak... and very close friends. I treasure his company in a way that I have not treasured the company of another since perhaps my time in heaven..."

"Your time in heaven."

"Y-yes...?"

"And the one in heaven whose company you so valued was...?"

"Why, Lillith... My dearly departed beloved...."

Arle places a hand on her hip, pinching the bridge of her nose with the other.

"And you say you value Ecolo's company in the same way."

"Yes, undeniably."

"Satan."

She then firmly grasps his shoulders and rattles him around like a maraca.

"You are the DUMBEST MAN I HAVE EVER SPOKEN TO."

"How so?!"

"You have just said that you feel the same way about spending time with Ecolo as you did about your time spent with your LATE WIFE. The woman you LOVED."

"...Yes?"

"So, you feel the same way about Ecolo as you did about Lillith?"

"Undeniably so."

"....Then you're in love with Ecolo."

His eyes widen, his mind breaks. He sits there, stunned into silence.

Arle sighs, letting go of Satan's shoulders.

"I'm sorry.... I just can't stand seeing you mope around in this castle all day. You're so sad, Satan... all the time. There's a hole in your heart, and I know that firsthand because you tried to get me to fill it, but.... Nobody can be a perfect match to that mold. The best shot you have at filling that cavity is someone who you _know_ you can rely on to be there for you while you grieve... And who have you relied on more than Ecolo?"

"I... Suppose, that you... have a point...."

"....I understand if you need time to think. I'm gonna head home for tonight, but.... Think about it. Give him another call when you have a chance, okay? He could be just who you need."

"....Thank you, Ms. Nadja."

She smiles at him from the battlement doorway.

"Anytime."


	4. because i love you, and i would do anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poets or more flowery writers had another word for "sky", for "space".   
> They called it heaven.  
> Maybe it's the only heaven that Satan will ever need again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAA HELLO ITS BEEN YEARS. Hi. Yes. Final chapter. Out now. They're gonna kiss finally! I promise!!!!

Ecolo had always wondered why Earth was the planet that got to decide how long a year was. 

Granted, yes, it _was_ the only inhabited planet in the Sol system, and thus the only planet where anything on it had the concept of time, but it still seemed unfair. There were seven other planets! Why couldn't they be the judge of that? In his mind, Earth had an elitism problem when it came to timekeeping privileges. Who says Earth can define the year, or the day, or whatever?

Why couldn't it have been Venus?

Venus is beautiful, with shimmering clouds and raging storms. It's around Earth size, and it's close enough.

...And besides, if Venus were the basis for how time is kept, then it would have only been two and a half days since he'd last seen Satan. Much less of a cruel reality than the year that they'd been apart under the Earth model.

Why oh why couldn't it have been Venus?

It would have only been a day. A day plus some change, really. He was so lonely...

His home may be here, at the edge of spacetime, but it didn't feel that way. Home was starting to change as a word. As he made more friends and thought further on his previous actions and present ones, the place, the _thing_ that "home" was had become different. He wasn't sure he liked it all that much, especially with how Satan played into it. That old crumbling castle, drafty and excessive though it was, had become more familiar to him than any constellation or nebula he once knew as comfortable. The roof they'd sat on had become as fond a memory as the day he'd met Satan himself, really, but as it stood, it was only that - a memory. He'd not been invited in so long that he was beginning to think he never would be.

It's a unique feeling, not being able to come home without an invitation.

...Home... home was more than the spires of that castle, the tapestries on the walls. It was deep bellowing laughter, the risky warmth of hellfire magically springing to life one-by-one across a row of braziers, dramatically lighting in sequence to the theatrical whims of the man walking past them. Home was the beating of wings, the twinging scent of dark magic, a bottle of deep red wine and a slice of rich chocolate cake. The outline of home had drawn itself - tall, pale, with long flowing hair and a bright red robe, confidently flared wings and curled horns. The knowing chuckle accompanied by a Puyo battle that was won before the first line of garbage ever hit the board.

Curse that man. Oh, that wretched, wretched man. He'd wiggled his way into the spacetime traveler's heart like a worm through an apple. Even if he _were_ invited, how could Ecolo possibly face him now...?

There was simply no way. He'd withdrawn from there. Resolved to leave it behind. He'd locked his feelings tight within his chest and bound them thirteen times over. He'd never be able to face Satan again....

* * *

He'd never be able to face Ecolo again. Not in a million years. It was simply impossible. Out of the question. He'd embarrass himself so sorely he'd die on the spot, and he's sure of it. There was absolutely no way Satan could ever speak with Ecolo again, not one bit. He'd been meeting with him for _years,_ and it was only seven months ago that he'd realized his feelings ran deeper than friendship! How could he have been this _stupid?!_ He's the ruler of _Puyo Hell,_ for crying out loud! This sort of buffoonery was so far below his station that he'd need a pair of cinderblock shoes and a boat trip to the Mariana Trench to stoop to its level, and yet here he was, shutting himself into his castle like a blithering fool to avoid the fact that he hadn't spoken with Ecolo in a year.

It was eating him alive, really. He'd been thinking and rethinking every little interaction the two of them had ever shared, searching for the smallest clue that Ecolo might return his feelings. His findings thus far had been... inconsequential. And besides, not only was Satan the literal Devil, he'd also been a _huge creep_ for several years. Granted, he wasn't _aware_ of how creepy he'd been acting, but the fact remained that the example he'd set of how he handles relationships was far from desirable. How could someone as brilliant and beautiful and kind as Ecolo possibly mirror his affections...?

Satan glanced over at the calendar on the wall. He hadn't moved it in five months... He'd planned to invite Ecolo over again around two months after Arle had given him that much-needed wake-up call, but it ended up being much too daunting of a task. He was scared, he'd admit it. Scared of rejection. Scared that there was no one to love him after all. 

_"So there is no one to love me after all..."_

His own words return to him in memory... But this time, so does Ecolo's reply.

_"...What?! No! No, Satan, that's- that's just not true! Have you ever even **spoken** to Rulue? She's **crazy** about you."_

_"Well, yes, but... that sort of thing isn't healthy. She's violent and uncompromising, willing to kill for a spot next to me... If I indulge her, I fear she may end up destroying herself."_

_"...You have a point, but... I... I'm **sure** you can be loved, because..."_

_"Because...?"_

_"...Well... Because you're **you.** You're the Dark Prince, Satan."_

Remembering Ecolo's final statement that night, Satan feels a solitary teardrop grace his cheek. 

_"To me... You're perfect."_

_You're perfect,_ he'd said. _You're perfect._

A wide, tearful smile broke across Satan's face like a crack prevailing through porcelain, as he rushed up the tower to the roof and took off into the endless sky.

* * *

**chat: Madou World Official  
time (server): 3:32 PM**

**bayoend your life:** HEY GUYS DID SATAN JUST SHOOT SOMETHING

 **dynasonichu:** i dont think so???? why

 **bayoend your life:** I saw some sort of object hurtling into space from the tower with the cannon!

 **dynasonichu:** oh

 **dynasonichu** **:** that's worrying! :}

 **hatsune miku high-range test:** I SPIL MY JICE MODS HELP HELP HELP HEP HELP HELP

 **dynasonichu:** GAOO

 **dynasonichu:** im using text to speech and that killed me >:{

 **bayoend your life:** why are you using TTS

 **dynasonichu:** SOME of us have to practice our RUNWAY WALKS

 **bayoend your life:** ok ok geez

 **bayoend your life:** harpy whats the matter?

 **hatsune miku high-range test:** I was just having a nice fly-around near Satan's castle and then the man himself collides full force with me!!!!!!! how rude!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 **bayoend your life:**.

 **dynasonichu:**.

 **hatsune miku high-range test:** what?

 **bayoend your life:** ok i think i know what i saw now

 **dynasonichu:** wheres he going though?? he hasnt left that castle in months!

 **bayoend your life:** i know exactly where hes going. and now its my job to pass on the message

**bayoend your life is now OFFLINE.**

**dynasonichu:** Arle wtf?!

 **hatsune miku high-range test:** so is no one gonna explain anything about this situation to me?

 **hatsune miku high-range test:** sure i guess

* * *

**DMs: Arle Nadja > Ringo Andou  
time (server): 3:54 PM**

**Arle:** honeycrisp

 **Arle:** math master

 **Arle:** ringo from the beatles

 **Arle:** number muncher

 **Arle:** apple of my eye

 **Arle:** ms. andou my beloved

 **Ringo:** i appreciate the pet names, really i do, but can you wait for me to actually get my phone out before you quintuple-text me?

 **Arle:** no time we have a code purple

 **Ringo:** WHAT THE FACTOR

 **Ringo:** who's doing what?!

 **Arle:** this is a square-on-circle interaction he flew into SPACE ringo you have to warn the blob man

 **Ringo:** On it!!

* * *

**chat: suzuran shitposters  
time (server): 4:01 PM**

**iphone lesbian: @instagram slime** INCOMING

 **instagram slime:** huhwha

* * *

No sooner had Ecolo checked the fleeting notification than he sensed a presence within the general vicinity of the clump of space junk he'd taken up residence in. It was closing in and fast, and the power signature it gave off was almost frighteningly intense. He felt and heard short-range teleportation magic as well - likely being used by whoever it was to blink through clouds of debris. Whatever this presence was, it was big, powerful, fast, and evidently coming right for him.

He has only seconds to react, plastering himself against the far wall, ready for whatever monster this is to come barreling through the wall opposite-

But instead of a crash, he hears the shimmer of a portal sigil, and his eyes catch sight of a glowing pentagram branded into the stone.

Not a picosecond later, Satan himself comes flying through the sigil, shattering it on exit as he fumbles through the weightless space between the walls, colliding with Ecolo in the air.

His arms and wings wrap around the enigmatic blob and squeeze tightly, and Ecolo hears a labored sigh of relief float from the Dark Prince's mouth as he pulls back to meet his eyes. 

"Ecolo... Oh, Ecolo, you didn't leave. Oh, you're still here. Thank goodness."

"W-why... why would I have left?"

Satan grips his shoulders and pulls him into the center of the room, wings resting just above his hips, keeping him ensnared. Ecolo decides he doesn't mind this very much.

"I've been _terrible_ to you!!"

"...What? In what world have you been terrible to me?"

"I haven't had you over in a _year,_ Ecolo, I've been an awful friend-!"

"No, no, I- I figured you needed some space after... the Arle thing."

...Satan's gaze softens. Is that pity? Remorse? Regret?  
His hands snake down Ecolo's arms and interlace with his own blobby fingers. Is this confusion? Sadness? Reluctance?

His voice cuts through Ecolo's thoughts.

"Oh, to hell with Arle."

"Huh?! No, no, don't send her to hell just because she rejected you-"

Satan chuckles for a moment, and then reels back in a deep and echoing belly laugh that bellows its way through the endless cosmic night.

"Not what I meant, Ecolo... Not what I meant. I mean- forget her, will you? Forget about that. It's only us here."

He gently sandwiches Ecolo's hands between his own, bringing them up between the two of them, his wings pulling Ecolo in.

"I have been... doing a fair bit of thinking..."

Ecolo's mind is running at a mile a minute. What is _happening_ right now?! Why is Satan's face so red? And why can't he stop his _own_ face from glowing with a star-spangled blush?

"Have you, now? About what?"

"About us. About.... what I want us to be."

This is it. This is the end. He's going to cut him off, right here, right now. It's all over-

"And... I decided that I wanted to give you this."

"Give me... what?"

...He _did_ get cut off. Just not in the way he expected.

Satan's lips taste like wine and dark chocolate and smoke and pomegranate. His touch feels all at once like silk and sandpaper, yanking Ecolo closer and coming to rest behind his back, _demanding_ that he stay and accept this gift he was offered. Ecolo feels a wing just under the back of his head, pushing them closer still. He slides his arms beneath Satan's, crossing them behind his shoulders. By the time they do separate, Ecolo is dazed and euphoric, wondering if this is a dream. 

Satan looks bashful and ashamed, and his touch eases off. When the pressure leaves Ecolo's skin, he suddenly can't bear to be without it.

"I... apologize. The moment took me.... But... I do, er... find you quite charming, Ecolo. I-if that was too soon, it's alright, and- I understand if you can't accept, but-"

"Hush."

"Hmm?"

Ecolo's voice is small and delicate. He's afraid of how _needy_ his next words will sound-

"Hold me again. A-as long as you want. Take me back home, please."

"Home? But this is your-"

He bursts forward and embraces Satan again, drinking in the sensation, assuring himself that he is wide awake.

 _"Not anymore,"_ He whispers into Satan's ear.

Satan is motionless for a few seconds, before his chest heaves the slightest bit with a faint, deep chuckle. His arms snake their way around Ecolo once again.

"...Of course, my dear. I will take you wherever you please."

Ecolo leans back, looking up into Satan's eyes.

"Satan..?"

"Please... call me Lucifer."

"...Heh. Fine. Luci?"

A new blush shocks its way across Satan's face in response to the name. The last person to call him that was...

"Y-yes?"

"...I adore you."

....Oh well, it couldn't be helped. 

"I adore you, too. Now... we should be heading home, yes?"

Ecolo floats back from the hug, looping his elbow around Satan's.

"Yeah... Home sounds great."

And, saying nothing more, the Dark Prince nodded and led his lover from the Heavens to Earth.


End file.
